Being Deaf is not a Weakness
by IntelligentFerretFreak
Summary: Murtagh's daughter Eve has always enjoyed studying dragons and DragonRiders. Murtagh agrees to let Eve see if one of the last two eggs from Saphira and Thorn will hatch for her. When it does, however, Murtagh and Eve encounter a hard decision. R&R pl
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the original Inheritance Cycle characters.

A/N: Hello this is my new Inheritance Cycle fanfic 'Being Deaf is not a Weakness' and it has _nothing_ to do with 200 Centuries Later, Mardonio's Heir, and Separate Ways - World's Apart. Once again I have no idea how well this one will turn out but this little plot bunny has been nagging at me for hours, so I've decided to finally type it up. Here is the summary: Murtagh's daughter, Eve has always been very fond of dragons. Especially since the DragonRiders have been reformed. One day one of Saphira's eggs hatches for Eve! Only problem is the hatchling cannot hear, but Eve isn't about to let that stop her from being with her dragon. Read on to find out what all happens.

Chapter 1

"Eve! Get your butt in here! It's time for dinner!" A dark haired teenager with teal colored eyes, turned around to stare at her father.

"Coming!" She turned back around and bowed to the creature in front of her. It was her fathers' half brothers dragon, Saphira. "I'll talk to you later Saphira." Saphira nudged Eve with her head gently.

_'You'd better hurry or else your father might bust a vein screaming for you again.'_ Eve laughed and ran towards the house she shared with her father. At age 17, Eve was just about ready to go out and live on her own in another town sometime. But the idea about leaving her father alone bugged her. Sure he'd have Thorn to keep him company, and his friends, but ever since her mother died when she was 10, she'd been very close to her father. She learned how to cook food, clean, make things all from scratch in just the course of a few months. Entering the house, she smiled at her father who was looking at a book.

"What're you reading?" She peered over his shoulder, looking at the words. It was in the Ancient Language.

"Just studying DragonRider stuff."

"But I thought you already knew a lot of the stuff in the book?"

"I do, but that is exactly why I need to study the book as well." Eve rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyways, what do you want for dinner?" Murtagh looked up at his daughter before chuckling.

"Eve, we're going over to Eragon's for dinner."

"What?"

"I told you just last night that we were going."

"I know but..."

"No buts. Now go get ready. I believe Arya is also going to see if a few of the eggs will hatch for anyone." Eve's heart leapt. There were only two eggs left that needed a Rider, and maybe tonight those two eggs would find their Riders.

"Eve...Just because I'm a DragonRider, doesn't mean you have to be one as well."

"But father I've been hanging around dragons for the past few years! I'm able to talk with them, I can even fly on Thorn without holding on for dear life! Please father?" Sighing again, Murtagh stood and looked away from his daughter. After five minutes, he faced her again before continuing.

"You know you really do look like your mother. Fine, but remember, the amount of days it stays in the house is ten. After the first ten days, and if it hasn't hatched, we are giving it back to Arya or one of the elves. Understand?" Eve nodded, a huge smile already acrossed her face.

"What if it does hatch?" She expected him to frown, but was caught off guard with a smile.

"If it hatches, then I will get to train you." Eve's smile grew even wider as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him the worlds largest hug.

"Thank you Daddy!" Murtagh blinked in surprise, and stood there in shock as his daughter ran up the stairs. Closing his eyes, Murtagh released an uneasy breath. '_Please...if there is a god listening, when she gets that egg, please let it hatch for her.'_

All right that's chapter 1! Tell me what you think! Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the original Inheritance Cycle characters

A/N: This chapter will hopefully be longer than chapter 1 ok?

Chapter 2

Eve wrung her hands nevously as she waited for Arya to bring out the eggs. They were finished with dinner already, and she could hardly wait for the next main event. '_Oh boy I sure hope it hatches for me! I'll have something I could share with my dad!'_ Finally Arya came out carrying both the eggs. One was a solid ruby, like Thorn, and the other...this one caught her eye. It was almost pure white except for some blue and gold mixed in with it. Never before had she heard of dragon eggs coming out in that color before. It seemed to be calling out for her. Arya approached her first.

"Eve would you like first pick?" Nodding excitedly, Eve pointed at the unique colored one and Arya handed it to her.

"Thank you, Arya Svit-kona." Eve bowed her head to the elf, but was still grinning from ear to ear. Standing straight up, Eve saw that Saphira was looking at her with warm eyes. She waved to the sapphire colored dragon.

_'I hope it hatches for you, and if it does, take care of my baby.'_

"You know I will Saphira." The dragon nodded before returning her attention to Eragon and everyone else. Thorn, who had flown off earlier to go hunting, landed next to her and her father.

'_You both ready?'_

"Yes Thorn." Eve climbed up into the saddle with her father right behind her.

"Eragon!" The other DragonRider turned towards them and waved.

"See you later Murtagh!" Thorn jumped into the air in one bound and began to fly towards their home. Eve looked at the egg, wrapped saftly in her arms. '_I really do hope you hatch for me. Only problem is, how do I know when you are hatching?'_ Hopefully her father would be there when and if it happened.

~9 days later~

Murtagh watched his daughter as she paced back and forth, and had to stop himself from chuckling. He knew tomorrow was the deadline for returning the eggs, and he had heard from Saphira through Thorn that the other egg also has not hatched yet.

"You know Eve, pacing won't help it hatch faster."

"Oh be quiet! If you have nothing better to do but watch me, then go ride Thorn!" Murtagh chuckled as he walked outside, but Eve felt as if she was on the verge of tears. From what she'd heard from other DragonRiders, the egg would usually hatch after the first 5 days. Kneeling down in front of the egg, Eve sighed sadly and felt a single tear go down her cheek.

"Why won't you hatch?" Closing her eyes, Eve slowly drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she saw a pretty white dragon with a blue and a gold eye. All it did was stare at her, before flicking its tail. A movement Eve recognized easily from other dragons. It was beckoning her to it. Slowly opening her eyes, her gaze landed on the egg....or rather what was left of it.

"Oh no!" Looking around, Eve tried to find out what had happened. If an animal had broken the egg and killed the hatchling was all she could come up with...until a little squeak was heard from behind her. Turning around slowly, Eve saw the baby dragon hatchling sniffing the ground, looking for food. Her heart jumped with joy. It hatched for her! Reaching her hand out, Eve touched the hatchling and instantly felt the cold, ice fire go through her entire body. She heard the dragon squeak in surprise at her touch and it skittered away from her, eyes wide.

"Eve?" Eve looked up and saw her father staring at her.

"Y-yes?"

"What're you doing?" Scrambling to her feet, Eve showed her father the marking that was now on her hand.

"Look! It hatched!" Murtagh looked at hand and he smiled.

"That's great! Now, where is it?" Eve looked to where it was still crouching and pointed.

"Over there." Murtagh walked over there and looked at the hatchling, who opened it's mouth and squeaked at him again.

"Eve come pick it up. I don't think it likes me." Eve nodded her head and slowly approached the frightened hatchling. It sniffed her hand first before allowing her to pick it up.

"Now what?" Murtagh reached out for the hatchling, and started examining it. "Father why are you examining it?"

"Well for starters, according to the scrolls and journals kept from the DragonRiders from the past, there have never been a dragon with an egg that was multi-colored. And now that I see what the hatchling looks like, I highly doubt any dragon has had two different colored eyes as well."

"So what are you saying?" Murtagh sighed. He had two pots now in his hands.

"I'm saying that there might be something wrong with the hatchling. It looks healthy, no abnormal muscles, or bone structure. It _looks_ normal, but I still have to check something."

"What?"

"It's hearing." Murtagh raised the pots over it's head, making sure it didn't know they were above it and banged them for about ten seconds. The results had Eve in tears. The hatchling had not reacted at all. Murtagh put the pots down and sighed.

"What does it mean?" Eve managed between sobs. The hatchling, seeing tears going down her cheeks, nuzzled her arm trying to comfort her.

"It can't hear Eve. It's deaf." Eve shook her head.

"No...It can still learn right?" Murtagh sighed again.

"I'm afraid not. Eve, you need to understand that a DragonRider and the dragon need to be able to communicate. The dragon needs to be able to _hear_ the command from its Rider. This hatchling however will not be able to hear your command."

"So I can't keep it?" Eve felt fresh tears about to fall.

"I'm sorry Eve...but you can't." Eve narrowed her eyes, and grabbed the hatchling quickly, causing it to squeak loudly, and ran to her room with it.

"I won't let you get rid of it!"

"Eve!" Eve put the hatchling on her bed and watched it as it moved around. Eventually it jumped off the bed and walked over to her and nuzzled her leg. She rubbed its head.

"Don't worry, I won't let him get rid of you. I'll find a way to train you as well...Surely there _must_ be a way to communicate with a deaf dragon!"

~The next day~

Eve jolted awake when she felt someone brushing her hair to the side. Looking up, she saw her father standing above her. Feeling movement next to her, she looked and saw the hatchling still next to her.

"Dad?"

"I'll be back in a few days. I'm going to talk to Eragon and Arya about the hatchling ok? If Eragon says to get rid of it, we'll have to Eve."

"But I won't let either of you. Oh Dad, before you go can you see if Thorn can do something before you go?"

"Like what?"

"Well....do you think Thorn can tell what gender it is? I want to think of a name for it." Murtagh sighed and motioned for her to follow.

"I don't know if he can, but we'll give it a try." Eve gently picked up the hatchling, who woke up with a squeak, and followed her father outside. Thorn drew his head back slightly at the sight of the hatchling.

"Thorn, Eve would like for you to try and tell what gender the hatchling is." Thorn nodded and lowered his head towards the ground. The hatchling squeaked at the big red snout that was suddenly in front of it, and skittered towards Eve. Murtagh's eyebrows shot up.

"Well that's a good sign."

"What is?"

"It has aknowledged the fact that you can protect it. It's a good thing right now. Later on, I hope it can aknowledge that it needs to protect you, instead of the other way around." Thorn sniffed the hatchling, who squeaked at him, before raising his head.

"He said it's female. I should've realized that, since her bone structure is very similar to that of Saphira's." Eve picked up the hatchling and held her little girl closer. The hatchling made a noise close to that of a purr and a squeak.

"She sure does love to squeak."

"Eventually that'll turn to a roar, unless that was also affected."

"I hope not. Or else it'll just be her facial features that shows her emotions." Eve brought her hatchling into the house, after Murtagh flew off on Thorn. An idea then popped into her head. '_What if I gave her my command through a mental image? No sound, just a simple motion or an image of what I want her to do. It might work. But first....a name.'_

All right review! Don't worry about suggesting names guys. I already have the name picked out. Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the original Inheritance Cycle characters.

A/N: The hatchlings' name is revealed finally in this chapter! And there is going to be a time skip in this chapter. I need the dragon to be a good size for later events.

Chapter 3

When Murtagh came home after two weeks, the first thing he noticed was the fact that the whole front area was a mess!

'_What the hell has she been doing?!'_

_'I don't know...but maybe she has a good reason for the mess.'_ Murtagh climbed out of the saddle and walked inside.

"Eve!" He went to her room and found it vacant. Running outside, he yelled her name again. This time she came running out of the forest, with a big grin on her face.

"You're finally back!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry it took so long. I didn't expect them to finally think of a good answer."

"Well? What's the verdict?"

"He said _if _you can somehow train her, then you can keep her. And you have 7 1/2 months."

"Yes! Seria will impress you, I assure you with that."

"Seria?"

"Yes. That's her name."

"It's pretty."

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Hold it. Why is there a mess?"

"Oh....heh, well that's part of Seria's training."

"Training?"

"Yes. She's going to get a special type of training."

"Ok. Explain."

"All right...you know how you told me, all you have to do is send an image of where you are to Thorn and he can find you? Well, that's what gave me the idea to do this. Maybe if I can train Seria to do exactly what I send to her as an image, then maybe she'll listen." Murtagh didn't say anything, but just stared at the forest.

"Where is she now?"

"I...I'm trying to figure that out right now." Murtagh smiled.

"Let's put your idea to the test. Send her an image of the house and of you beckoning her to you."

"How do I do that?"

"...I forgot that she's too young for you to be thinking telepathically with her yet."

"Oh I can already do that."

"What?"

"I thought about a stick, and she went and grabbed a stick for me."

"Ok...then think about the house and you beckoning her to you." Eve nodded and did as he suggested and then waited. Within two minutes, Seria came running out of the bushes and squeaked at them. Eve smiled.

"It worked....it worked!" She hugged her father and then picked up Seria, who did not squeak.

~7 1/2 months later~

Murtagh watched as Eve gave Seria simple commands. Like come to her, stay, and eat. '_I think maybe Eve should treat Seria like a dragon and for her to act like a DragonRider.'_

"Eve?"

"Hm?"

"I think it's time for you to ride Seria for the first time."

"Father...I, uh, don't think that's a very good idea."

"And why not? You don't want to ride your dragon?"

"Its not that....it's just that..."

"You haven't taught her how to fly?"

"Yeah...." Murtagh chuckled.

"Eve, you can't teach her how to fly. All right, command her to fly." Eve nodded and looked Seria in the eyes and gave her the command. Seria just turned her head side ways and looked at Eve in confusion.

"See? She doesn't understand." Murtagh smiled.

"I've got an idea. Thorn. Tell her to watch Thorn." Eve indicated towards Thorn and Seria switched her gaze from from Eve to Thorn. Thorn lifted his wings and jumped into the air, and Eve gave the command to fly again. This time Seria jumped into the air easily. Eve couldn't believe how easy it was for her to fly through the air without any problems.

"Wow...father when are you going to tell Eragon?" Murtagh looked down at his daughter and smiled.

"Why don't we take her over there today?"

"Really? Ok...." She gave Seria the command to land and her dragon obeyed. She landed without any trouble at all and looked at Eve, who was approaching her.

"Remember Eve, you need to hold onto the saddle with your arms and legs." Murtagh instructed her before showing Seria what he was about to put onto her. Once he had the saddle on, he motioned for Eve to get on. Helping his daughter into the saddle, Murtagh sighed sadly.

"What is it?"

"You're experiencing something wonderful....but you cannot talk with your dragon. It's probably not how you imagined it." Eve put a hand on Seria's neck and rubbed a bit.

"It's all right. As long as I get to keep her, I'll be happy."

"Why don't you see if she can roar?" Eve nodded and gave her the command to roar. At first Seria didn't do anything, until she understood what Eve wanted, and then threw her head back and released a loud roar. Murtagh and Eve covered their ears, but laughed while doing so.

"I guess she can make sounds." Murtagh nodded, agreeing with a smile on his face.

"Ok tell her to follow Thorn." Eve nodded and sent an image to Seria of her following Thorn. Her dragon shifted a bit before walking towards Thorn. At being only about seven months, almost eight, Thorn was bigger than Seria.

"All right, we're ready father." Murtagh nodded and climbed into Thorn's saddle.

"All right. Let's go!" Thorn roared before jumping into the air, Seria right behind him. Eve couldn't help but feel a bit scared at first while riding on Seria. Like her father said, it's a totally different experience...a wonderful experience. '_If only I could speak to her.'_ After a while, Thorn landed somewhere admist a bunch of trees and Seria looked around, completely confused. Eragon then appeared on Saphira's back and landed a few feet away from them.

"So this is the deaf dragon?" Seria took one look at Eragon, before she hissed at him. Murtagh looked at his daughter.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know!" Eve put a hand on Seria's shoulder and rubbed, trying to calm her down.

"Forgive her Eragon, Seria usually does not treat people like that."

"She's met other people? And it's all right."

"Not exactly."

"Then she's probably just being very cautious with me at the moment. She's never seen me or smelled me before, but I'm sure she can tell something is up." Eve nodded. She didn't tell her father, but before he had come back after she had hatched, Eve had somehow shared with Seria what had been going on earlier. Why she had picked her up so suddenly, ran into a room, and began crying. If she was to guess, Seria _knew_ this was Eragon from her memories and did not like the fact that by his orders she could die. Eragon continued talking.

"Ok, how about you start showing me how your training has been going?" Eve looked at Seria and found that her gaze was locked onto Eragon. Sending the command to flex her wings, Eve hoped that Seria would obey. She did.

"Eve also speak your command so we know what you're telling her to do." Her father instructed and Eve nodded.

"Go stand by Saphira." She pointed towards Saphira and sent the command to Seria. At first Seria didn't move, until finally she moved forward. Saphira nuzzled the younger dragon and Eve remembered that Saphira is Seria's mother. Eragon slowly nodded his head.

"I see that works....but is that all you can do?"

"I can tell her to fly and do plenty of other things."

"No, I meant she can't tell you things as well? Does she recognize you as someone she has to protect?" Eve looked at her dragon, who was now licking Saphira's shoulder.

"I don't know. She's never told me anything, and I've never been in danger." Eragon walked over to Murtagh and they conversed for a moment. After a moment, Eragon walked back over.

"You're father has agreed with me. We need to test those two questions. We have to put you in danger and you cannot tell her anything else but look. Understand?"

"Yes." She sent the command to Seria and her dragon looked over at her for a few seconds, before turning back to Saphira. Turning back to Eragon, Eve let out a yell. He had his sword drawn and was pointing it at her.

"What're you doing!?"

"I'm completing the training." Eve stumbled over a rock and kept her eyes closed. One of the dragons roared and Eragon was knocked to the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw Eragon pinned by Seria, who was snarling. Eve petted Seria's frontleg, calming her down enough to let Eragon up.

"I do believe she passed that one. You can keep her Eve." Eve looked at Eragon.

"But what about the first question?"

"That's something we have to find out in time." Eve went back to petting her dragon. Eve gasped in surprise when Seria picked her up and placed her on her back. Spreading her wings, Seria jumped into the sky, heading back home. After a few minutes, Seria let out a sigh of some sort.

_'What was that all about?'_ Eve gasped and leaned in closer to her dragon.

_'Seria? Was that you?'_

_'I'm pretty sure I'm the only one around you....so my name is Seria?'_

_'How are you talking? Father said that you were deaf!'_

_'What's your name?'_

_'Eve.'_

_'Ok Eve, listen. This isn't talking, this is thinking. Technically, I'm not deaf in my mind. Every creature has their own thoughts.'_

_'How come you've never spoken to me before?'_

_'I didn't know I could do it, until mother spoke with me. While she was speaking with me, I glanced over at you and saw __**him**__ pointing a sword at you. I couldn't think of anything else to do but tackle him. Can you forgive me?'_

_'Of course. Seria what you did was what you were supposed to do.'_

_'It was? How come you didn't tell me?'_

_'He told me not to.'_ Seria landed outside her house and looked at her. She sent Eve an image of them both cuddled together.

_'You want to cuddle?'_ Seria nodded and laid down. Eve laid down next to her, and rested her head against Seria's side. Seria curled her head and wings around her Rider. Eve realized that maybe having a deaf dragon isn't a weakness, but an advantage.

All right review!


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